1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a liquid lubricating system for an internal combustion engine and more particularly to a system which will reduce the volume of liquid lubricant in the system required to safely operate the system and more easily and continually supply make-up liquid lubricant as the lubricant is dissipated.
2. Description of the Prior Art and Objects
Conventionally, internal combustion engines are lubricated with oil which is normally stored in a so-called "oil pan" or crank case that is mounted on the underside of the engine. An oil pump, normally mounted within the oil pan, pumps oil from the pan to various moving parts such as pistons, valve lifters, etc. After continued use, some of the oil may leak out of the circulating system or be otherwise dissipated to reduce the volume of oil in the circulating, liquid lubricating system. Traditionally, as the oil is dissipated, the user will add oil to bring the level back up to the desired level. In an internal combustion engine having a five quart capacity of lubricating oil, oil is traditionally added in one quart increments. A substantial part of the oil in the system is "used" or old compared to the portion of oil which has been newly added. It is desirable that the proportion of new oil to old or "used" oil be as high as possible to increase the lubricating characteristics of the lubricating system. Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide apparatus which will increase the proportion of fresh or new oil relative to the portion of "used" or old oil heretofore utilized in internal combustion engines.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a new and novel apparatus for maintaining the volume of liquid lubricant in an internal combustion lubricating system.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide new and novel apparatus for constantly monitoring the level of liquid in an operating engine and for constantly applying make-up lubricant as the lubricant is dissipated.
It has also been found desirable to utilize as much fresh or new oil in the system as possible to efficiently flush the engine of contaminates. Accordingly, it is another object of the present invention to provide new and novel apparatus for maintaining the level of lubricant with a higher proportion of fresh oil to better flush the engine of contaminates.
Also typical is the so-called "oil change" whereby the engine operator will periodically completely remove the "used oil" in an engine and replace it with new or fresh oil. For years, such waste oil has merely been deposited back into the earth which has caused substantial ecological and contamination problems. With the advent of current environmental protection agency standards, the consumption, destruction or elimination of waste oil has become a substantial problem. With the apparatus constructed according to the present invention, it is never necessary to remove used oil from the system as fresh oil is constantly supplied to the system whenever necessary. As the engine "consumes" the oil, fresh make-up oil is provided. Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a make-up lubricant system for an internal combustion engine which will eliminate the necessity of "changing oil".
In the typical internal combustion engine, the oil pan or crank case mounted below the engine has a relatively great breadth. Accordingly, although the engine may only require one-half quart of oil to lubricate it any any one time, it has been conventional to store five quarts in the crank case in order to cover the inlet orifice of the oil pump when the engine is operating and the level of oil in the crank case lowers. It has been found according to the present invention that the inclusion of a deep well, having a breadth substantially less than the breadth of the oil pan, will reduce the total volume of oil required in the system. With the high volume of internal combustion engines operating throughout the world, a substantial .savings in oil reserves could easily be appreciated if the total oil required was decreased. It is an object of the present invention to provide a new and novel lubricant storage pan of the type described for receiving and storing a lower volume of liquid lubricant than has been required heretofore.
It is another object of the present invention to provide apparatus for maintaining the oil level in an internal combustion engine substantially constant and continually supplied with fresh oil as needed without ever having need to "change the oil" or otherwise remove oil from the system.
It is another object of the present invention to provide apparatus for maintaining a constant oil level which includes a make up oil reservoir which stores the reserve oil heretofore stored in the "oil pan".
Apparatus has been provided heretofore for maintaining the level of lubricating oil in an internal combustion system such as that disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 2,615,442 issued to C. T. Berry on Oct. 28, 1952. The lubricating apparatus illustrated in the Berry patent includes a relatively complicated valve system which is coupled into the vacuum system associated with the engine manifold. Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide new and novel, relatively inexpensive and simple apparatus for maintaining constant the correct level of lubricating in the crank case of an internal combustion engine.
The U.S. Pat. No. 4,724,926 issued to Lonnie L. Collins on Feb. 16, 1988 also discloses apparatus for maintaining a level of lubricating oil in an internal combustion engine, however, the system likewisely discloses a complicated valving arrangement and operates only when an engine is inoperative as opposed to when then engine is operative. Such a prior art system, of course, risks the possibility of having an insufficient quantity of oil while the engine is operating. Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide apparatus of the type described for maintaining a correct level of lubricating oil in the oil pan of an internal combustion engine while the engine is operating.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a method of maintaining the quality of liquid lubricant in an internal combustion engine by supplying make-up liquid lubricant from a storage reservoir to an oil pan via gravity only.
It is another object of the present invention to provide an engine oil storage and lubricating system which utilizes only slightly more than the minimal amount of oil required to lubricate the system.
It is another object of the present invention to provide oil level maintaining apparatus of the type described which includes a translucent oil reservoir that is used to in situ visually indicate a proper oil level without the use of a conventional "dip stick" that must be withdrawn from an oil pan.
Other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art as the description thereof proceeds.